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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Unseen Rajasthan Exclusive-The Great Jaislmer.

History

The Royal Jaislmer Fort(Night View)

The city has an interesting legend associated with it, according to which, Lord Krishna-the head of the Yadav Clan, foretold Arjuna that a remote descendent of the Yadav Clan would built his kingdom atop the Trikuta Hill. His prophecy was fulfilled in 1156 A.D. when Rawal Jaisal, a descendent of the Yadav Clan and a Bhatti Rajput, abandoned his fort at Lodurva and founded a new capital - Jaisalmer, perched on the Trikuta Hill.

Bahti Rajputs of Jaisalmer were feudal chiefs who lived off the forced levy on the caravans laden with precious silks and spices that crossed the territory enroute Delhi-or-Sind. These caravans earned the town great wealth.

Nathmal Ki Haveli(Mansions)

Nathmal Ki Haveli in Jaisalmer is a famous landmark of this place. The architecture of this mansion is a unique blend of Rajput as well as Islamic style of construction. It is quite different from the other palaces and havelis around Rajasthan. Nathmal Singh Ki Haveli was supposed to be the official residence of the Prime Minister of Jaisalmer. There is an interesting story attached to how the place was built. Read about it in the following lines.

Two brothers named Hathi and Lulu were sanctioned with the responsibility of the construction of this magnificent haveli. They started building the haveli simultaneously with each brother concentrating on one side of the haveli. The result of building it simultaneously showed up in the haveli with different left and right sides! However, it didn't look too obvious and it comes into notice only when observed a bit closely.

The haveli was decorated grandly. The entrance of the haveli has two gigantic elephants carved out of yellow sandstone that look almost real. The pillars are enormous with delicate carvings on them. The walls have vivid description of flora and fauna and have been designed with lovely paintings and carvings. The haveli is a must see for those interested in basking in the old world charm of Rajasthan.

Patwo Ki Haveli(Mansion)

The five-storied Patwon ki Haveli is the largest of its kind in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. Patwon ki haveli is one of the most elaborate and fascinating mansions in Jaisalmer that entices you with its hypnotic charm.

Located on a narrow lane in the main Jaisalmer city, Patwon ki haveli was constructed by Guman Chand Patwa and his five sons. Guman Chand was a famous trader of his times and dealt in gold, brocade and silver.There are five massive suites in the Patwon ki haveli that are decorated with brilliant representations of artistic acumen. The entire haveli is and interesting grid of pillared halls, large corridors, lavishly chiseled ceilings and ostentatiously decorated walls. The stunning murals that adorn the haveli walls are colorful depictions of the everyday court scenes, village scenes and other artistic concepts.

The walls of one particular room at the Patwon ki Haveli is completely covered with captivating frescoes.

A part of Patwon ki haveli is owned by the Archaeological Survey of India, a part of it is owned by a family and the rest of it is owned by families who run craft shops within the premises.

It is believed that it took about a 50 years to complete the construction of the entire haveli.There are five massive suites in the Patwon ki haveli that are decorated with brilliant representations of artistic acumen. The entire haveli is and interesting grid of pillared halls, large corridors, lavishly chiseled ceilings and ostentatiously decorated walls. The stunning murals that adorn the haveli walls are colorful depictions of the everyday court scenes, village scenes and other artistic concepts.

The walls of one particular room at the Patwon ki Haveli is completely covered with captivating frescoes.

A part of Patwon ki haveli is owned by the Archaeological Survey of India, a part of it is owned by a family and the rest of it is owned by families who run craft shops within the premises.

Architecture Inside The Patwo Ki Haveli(Mansion)

Salim Singh Haveli(Mansion)

Salim Singh Ki haveli that stands in mute testimony to the splendorous Jaisalmer past towards the eastern end of Jaisalmer city. This stately Jaisalmer haveli with its stunning blue cupola roof is resplendent with exquisite stone carvings, screen windows and exotic murals.

The intricately chiseled brackets on the walls of Salim Singh ki haveli speak volumes about the love for detail and beauty among the artisans of those days. The sheer lavishness of extensive corridors, massive rooms and hallways weaves a bewitching spell on you.

Vibrant, graceful and stylish murals on the walls of Salim Singh ki haveli add an extra opulent charm to this lovely medieval mansion that was named after Salim Singhji, who was the prime minister in the Jaisalmer royal court.

Salim Singh ki Haveli served as residence to the members of the Mohta family for decades. Most of the ministers in the Jaisalmer royal court were descendants of the Mohta family. The haveli draws its name from Salim Singh, who was an important minister in the Jaisalmer royal court and a shrewd statesman who was later murdered for conspiring against the royal throne.

It is believed that there were two more stores over the existing five storied structure, that were torn down by the orders of the royal court of Jaisalmer as a prime ministers home could not be of the same height as that of the royal palace.

Gadsisar Lake

Gadsisar is a scenic rainwater lake situated in Jaislmer,Rajasthan. It was built in 1156 and later rebuilt by Maharwal Garsisingh in 1367. A beautiful arched gateway decorates the lake. The lake is surrounded by ghats, temples, cenotaphs and gardens.

Umbrella Between Lake

Gadsisar Lake is an ideal picnic spot and is famous for boating. It is also home to a numerous species of birds.

Jain Temples

Within the fort walls, there are seven beautifully carved Jain Temples built between the 12th and 15th centuries. The cluster of temples is connected by a series of corridors and walkways. Shoes and all leather items must be removed before entering the temple.

The first temple you come around is the one dedicated to Chandraprabhu, the eighth tirthankar (Jain Teacher), whose symbol is the moon. It was built in 1509 and features fine sandstone sculpture in sandstone in Mandapa (Fore chamber of the inner sanctum of the temple).

To the right of the Chandraprabhu Temple is Rikhabdev temple. There are some fine sculptures around the walls protected by glass cabinets, and the pillars are beautifully sculpted with apsaras (Celestial Maiden) and gods. This temple has a lovely and tranquil atmosphere.

Lord Buddha Statue

Other temples which may be currently closed to the non - Jains, include the temple dedicated to Parasnath, a few steps behind Chandraprabhu. Entry is via an enormous and beautifully carved torana (Gateway) that culminates the image of the Jain tirthankara its apex. There is a voluptuous carving of an apsara balancing a set of balls on her raised forearm.

A door to the south side of the temple leads to the small Shitalnath Temple, dedicated to the 10th tinrthankar. The image of Shitalnath enshrined here is composed of eight precious metals. A door in the north wall leads to the beautiful Sambhavnath Temple.

Entrance To Temple

Steps lead from the courtyard before the Sambhavnath temple to the Shantinath Temple, which was built in1536. The enclosed gallery around the temple is flanked by hundreds of images of saints, some of marble and some of Jaisalmer sandstone. Steps lead below the temple to Kunthunath Temple, which was also built in 1536.

BaraBagh Tombs(Dedicated To Ladies Who Burnt Themselves)

On the outskirts of Jaisalmer, presently a district headquarters and formerly a princely state of Rajasthan, is a sandy rocky area where these tombs are constructed.This place is called -'Bara Bagh' or-'Big Garden'.There is clear road to this spot. There is nothing of the garden sort. It is named so to indicate the abundance of what is there. And there is the abundance of-tombs!

In the medieval period,when Muslim rule was forcefully spreading all over India, Indian natives had great struggle to save their culture, chastity, heritage and properties.The fear was more with indian ladies, who regarded their chastity more than their life.While men were out to fight against the invaders, women in the houses were praying for their win.In Rajasthan, there was a custom in which ladies of warriers were falling into burning fires as soon as they hear that their men were defeated in the battle field. So, they kept the burning fire ready.This custom was called -JOUHAR.This place is dedicated to those Brave Ladies only.

Camels For Safari

Safari on Camels is a Fantastic experience.Camels can take to you to those place where cars cant go.You will really enjoy the safari on Sand Dunes.

People Traveling On Sand Dunes

In Rajasthan people in Villages prefer travelling on Camels only as it is one of the most suitable animal of desert.It is also known as Ship Of Desert.They can live many days without water and thats why in desert they are used more.

Royal Men In Festival

They are the Royal Men Of Rajasthan who has came from different villages to attend the festival .This festival is organized every year in the month of December.This is also known as Desert Festival.Both Local and Foreigners join the Festival and enjoy the Marvellous life of Royal Rajasthan.

Man With His long Moustaches

These kind of stuff can easily be found in Jaislmer as this place is still one of the most traditional and cultural city of India.This man is showing his big moustaches and also claims that he can lift 200 Kgs of weight with them.This was also challenged and This man won.Great.

Kid Selling Indian Sweets

This kid is selling the most famous sweets of Rajasthan which is known as Laddu and Petha.

With these sweets and sweet memories i am completing my journey to Jaisalmer.

80 comments:

Your photography is so beautiful, so interesting. I wish I had time to read all of your text, you've put so much work into this, but there is so much material here and there is so little time. Please know I really love looking at your images and reading your comments at my site. Thank you for your visits.

Thank you very much for the wonderful post of Jaisalmer. I really appreciate for the pain you have taken to describe it beautifully in a magnificent way with colourful pictures. You are not only a good writer but also a very good photographer. Each and every line you have written is so interesting that I felt myself at Jaisalmer. As I was reading your wonderful description I was remembering my Jaisalmer trip. Fantastic post and this is one of the best post I liked among all. Once again thanks for this adorable post.

the architecture of these temples is simply amazing - life is so much simpler in terms of design, so it is incredible to think that in those untechonologified times, architectural design was so intricate, despite not having the conveniences to make their construction easier

First of all let me thank you for your comment left.Second allow me to say that your site is of very great joy, both to see and read what you write!Yesterday it was that I found a word in sanskrit (dharmata)will try to think about it more and write about it.For now I would like to say that you truly know this word (if I understand it right). Please have a nice week.

Thanks for visiting my site. I spent a month in Rajasthan not long ago.I enjoyed seeing pictures of many of the places I visited. I went to The Pushkar Camerl Fair, R, Tiger Refuge and spent a couple of weeks in Jaipur. I loved Udiapur, but missed Jalismer. Let's stay in touch.

Visiting GLORIOUS RAJASTHAN is in my wish-list.....the pics are so beautiful...you have an amazing sense of photography ...i will repeat that your blog is the best pic blog i have come across.....SPLENDID.

Thank you for visiting my art blog. I'm so pleased to have you join me. Your pictures are fabulous. They look very similar to the photos my husband took two years ago when he was in India. I would love to go myself some day.

Oh...just amazing. I've always wanted to visit your country. I'll check out all your wonderful posts. I love that camel safari through the sand dunes! Thanks for visiting my blog...that's how I found yours!